Many wireless communication systems require a rapid deployment of independent mobile users as well as reliable communications between user nodes. Mesh networks, such as Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs), are based on self-configuring autonomous collections of portable devices that communicate with each other over wireless links having limited bandwidths. A mesh network is a collection of wireless nodes or devices organized in a decentralized manner to provide range extension by allowing nodes to be reached across multiple hops. In a mesh network, communication packets sent by a source node thus can be relayed through one or more intermediary nodes before reaching a destination node. Mesh networks may be deployed as temporary packet radio networks that do not involve significant, if any, supporting infrastructure. Rather than employing fixed base stations, in some mesh networks each user node can operate as a router for other user nodes, thus enabling expanded network coverage that can be set up quickly, at low cost, and which is highly fault tolerant. In some mesh networks, special wireless routers also may be used as intermediary infrastructure nodes. Large networks thus can be realized using intelligent access points (IAPs), also known as gateways or portals, which provide wireless nodes with access to a wired backhaul.
Mesh networks can provide critical communication services in various environments involving, for example, emergency services supporting police and fire personnel, military applications, industrial facilities and construction sites. Mesh networks are also used to provide communication services in homes, in areas with little or no basic telecommunications or broadband infrastructure, and in areas with demand for high speed services (e.g., universities, corporate campuses, and dense urban areas). Routing communications between two nodes in a static network generally involves simply determining the shortest route between the two nodes. However, in a mesh network, the determination of an optimal communication route may involve additional factors. For example, propagation path losses, interference between users, and channel fading may require the use of an indirect route between two nodes in order to provide an acceptable Quality of Service (QoS) to the network users.
Because the size and bandwidth demands of a mesh network may change rapidly, backhaul requirements of a mesh network may also change rapidly. If a number of mesh gateways in a mesh network is fixed, a backhaul capacity of the mesh network may be either over- or under-supplied as the size and bandwidth demands of the mesh network fluctuate. Thus, with too much backhaul capacity, a mesh network wastes physical and bandwidth resources; but with too little backhaul capacity, a mesh network may limit the performance of all network nodes and reduce overall network quality of service (QoS).
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